The Fang that Drew Blood
by TobiasHawk1
Summary: Call us liars/ Degenerates, and killers/ Psychos, heartless, insane criminals/ Stupid, mutts and/ Nothing but pure evil/Primal, bloodshed, is all that's left to do./ We're misguided/ Treated like we're criminals and we should hide/ Born indicted/ Tired of being pushed around and we will fly/ We'll fly/ We'll fly.
1. Prologue: Apologies

_You guys have every right to be mad at me. You guys might even hate me for what I did. And I'd honestly like to say I'm sorry. I wish what had happened between us hadn't. I wish it wasn't necessary. I wish that there'd been another way, some way where less people died. But I'd never wish away the time we spent together because it was the most fun I'd had in my life. I never faked any of it_ _especially not my feelings for Yang_ _. I want you all to know that I'd had you guys' best interests at heart the whole way through. The only reason you're all alive now is because of me, but I'm not asking for a thank-you, I'm asking for understanding. We were tired and exhausted of being the focus of discrimination for so long. All we wanted was to be equal. All we wanted was to not have to worry about the next police officer who might kill an unarmed child just because he had a tail. The next human to shoot up a historically Faunus church. The next Faunus to hang himself in prison because he'd been incarcerated without trial for a crime he didn't commit. That was our plan for the past century and for ninety-five years it felt like we were getting nowhere. We've made more advancements in the past five years than we did the rest of the century and it's only because we started using the same violence you'd used against us for centuries as a tool. I want you to understand that we're not bad people. We were just tired of getting pushed around. And I hope one day you might forgive me, because I honestly still see you all as my friends. My teammates._

 _-Blake Belladonna_


	2. Chapter 1: Demands

Two Faunus sat across from one another at an empty cafe. One of the few "Faunus-only" cafes in Vale, it was the best spot to meet without suspicion. They'd been sitting for almost an hour, waiting for the patrons that'd arrived before them to leave; the wait staff had stopped letting in new customers despite the afternoon hour. In that time their coffee had gone cold and they'd ordered no food. They'd never even spoken a word to one another. Both were dressed in black from head to toe, topped with dark-tinted sunglasses despite the cloudiness of the day. The man was the first to speak, slowly turning to face his companion.

"You know why we called you." It wasn't a question. His voice was deep and raspy even as he spoke under a whisper. He sounded like a man who didn't laugh often. Scars were barely visible as they stretched out to his cheekbones. Scars that were normally hidden behind a white mask.

"Yes, I do. And you know what I'm going to say." Furry, black kitten ears twitched as they listened out for anyone that might be eavesdropping on their whispered conversation. However unlikely that might've been, it was still _extremely_ important that no one overheard them. The plan they were discussing would be the most important thing their organization will ever do.

"You've gone soft," the man said, sitting back in his chair. He didn't break eye contact as he reached down and grabbed the sharp steak-knife off the wooden table. He twirled the blade between his fingers, cutting the air with the sharp, cool metal.

"You _know_ this is better than the original plan. We can't-"

"What _I_ know is irrelevant." He interrupted her hissed whisper with a slightly raised voice that _demanded_ her silence.

"What matters is what the boss thinks and you're not exactly his most favorite person right now." The blade's twirling took on a rhythmic dance, slicing figure-8's into the warm afternoon air.

"He sent me to kill you… _twice_." The man set the knife back down on the table, having grown tired of the display.

"And you didn't." A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she stated the obvious.

"I had… reservations." He cleared his throat, fingers smoothing his lapels.

"Aw… it's almost like you missed me." The smirk had bled into her voice, smug and slightly condescending.

"He's not going to like this." He knew he was being toyed with and he refused to play this game of cat and mouse with her.

"And he doesn't get my help if he doesn't cooperate, so he's going to do it anyway." Her voice had gone from playful to professional. As if she were stating historical facts instead of possible best case scenarios.

"You're willing to take this risk? For _them_?" Disbelief and confusion that'd been growing for most of a year were dripping from his lips like honey. He couldn't understand _why_ the girl who'd been born into their organization could turn her back on it. How she could vouch for the _enemy_.

"He's not exactly the most intimidating person. He sent someone to kill me _twice_ and now he's begging for my help." She was sitting on top of the world. She could've rested her feet on the table and laughed. She knew she held all the cards, that both the man in front of her and her former boss would _need_ her to cooperate if they were going to successfully execute their plan.

"You're lucky you're not dead." It was more of a warning than a threat. He wanted her to fully understand how much danger she could be in. How closely she was flirting with death. He finally broke eye contact and looked down at his cup of cold coffee, slowly stirring the drink.

"And my luck is going to help me out one more time. You're going to tell him he follows the revised plan or no deal." She knew she was pushing her luck, but she wasn't at all afraid of the man in front of her. She'd known his tall and wiry frame, his red and spiky hair, his long and curved horns and his spiderwebbed scars for most of her life. She knew he'd die before he'd let harm come to her and she had no problems taking advantage of him. The same way he'd taken advantage of her and her own talents for years.

"Why me?"

"For the same reason you didn't kill me when you had the chance. Or follow me to Beacon when you knew exactly where I was… You're still in love with me."

"This is over." He stood up in one swift motion and his companion almost flinched. He stormed away in a dramatic huff, leaving the cafe and slamming the door behind him.

"Thanks for the help, Adam." Blake left twenty Lien on the table and followed her oldest friend out the door. She thoughtfully turned the "closed" sign back around to read "open" as she left, a wide smirk still on her face.


	3. Chapter 2: Coil

"... and seven sisters. Our family's pretty huge but we're all really close. What about you, Blake?" Jaune finished his story by throwing a few more potato chips into his mouth, crunching heavily on the salty crisps. Pyrrha quickly smacked his shoulder, getting him to realize how insensitive his question was considering what they knew about Blake's past.

"Oh! S- sorry, Blake. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, Jaune…" Blake sighed softly, looking to the eyes of her curious friends teammates. She lingered for a second on icy blue, trying her hardest to read what might be going on just beneath the surface before she continued.

"I was born into the White Fang. I never really knew my family. Instead we're raised together with other Faunus our own age, where we learn about our history and culture and try our best to live up to who we used to be... That's why I asked about all of yours… I just wanted to know what having a mom or dad might be like." Blake wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. It was always something she envied about her friends. They'd all had families and peaceful childhoods, despite how different they were from one another.

"Sometimes I hear you guys call your parents… I know it's childish but it's hard not to get a little jealous. I wish _I_ had parents to call… You all seem so happy whenever you get off your Scrolls after talking to them. And they always seem to worry about you about little things like taking medicine and stuff. It'd just be nice to know someone cared about me like that." She bit her tongue when she saw Yang clench her fists. She'd gotten extremely close to Yang over the past couple of months, and she knew that the blonde had trouble facing problems she couldn't fix without her fists. She reached out and wrapped her hand around Yang's. It was a gentle touch, one that quickly pulled the girl out of the anger she was feeling.

"Well… you're lucky you don't have a father like mine." Weiss's voice was always shrill and it cut through the quiet room like a knife.

"He wasn't exactly the most understanding father… Anything less than perfection wasn't good enough for him. So be glad you never had a father like mine." She always sat with a poise that could only come from being born into wealth. Her shoulders were back, her chest out, her head held high. Her legs were perfectly crossed as she sat on the bed, higher than everyone else who sat on the floor. Somehow even while being casual, she still managed to make herself appear higher than her peers. Blake's ears twitched in slight agitation.

"I'm sorry, Weiss… sometimes parents expect far too much." Pyrrha offered her sincerest apologies, always the first to try and console someone in need. Weiss's shoulders lifted into the smallest shrug before falling back to rest. It was obvious she didn't want to say more about the issue, but Blake had to press just a little harder.

"Do you think he did it out of ill will? Or… maybe he just knew you were destined for more than greatness and wanted to push you?" The words were carefully chosen to both get what she wanted as well as stroke Weiss's ego. After years of experience of living on the streets, Blake knew just what to say to people.

"Well… maybe… either way, it was still… _difficult_ to live with him when he expects so much. And the activities of the White Fang always resulted in… well some of the hardest nights of my life." The smallest hint of an accusatory tone bled its way into Weiss's words as she looked into the amber eyes of her teammate. The tension in the room seemed to rise exponentially before Ruby took action.

"I'm gonna call dad later. It's been a while." Ruby interjected, yawning into Yang's lap as her older sister played with her hair.

"That's a good idea, Ruby," Pyrrha said. She nodded her head, her undone hair cascading down her strong shoulders.

"Maybe we should _all_ call our families! Wouldn't that be great? We could call them up and tell them all how much fun we're having at school and all the cool people we've met along the way! Even all the Ursa we've killed, right Renny?" Ren replied with nothing more than a nod, his hand resting comfortably on Nora's thigh.

"What do you think, guys? Family time for Team SSSN, too?" Sun playfully punched Neptune in the arm, knowing just how much Neptune hated getting into conversations with his long-winded parents.

"Fine, fine. I have to call them anyway, I'm down to my last twenty Lien."

"Weiss, you obviously don't have to call if you don't want to," Ruby said softly. No one except Blake could've heard the two, her extra set of feline ears carefully picking out every word.

"I'll… maybe I'll call my sister… say a kind word or two to father…"

It was exactly what she'd needed. One last conversation between Weiss and her father before the plan could start. One last display of affection for maximum yield. Blake slipped her Scroll out of her pocket and typed on the holographic touch screen. The number was in her contact list, saved under a single bull emoji.

[Tomorrow]

[You sure?]

[Tomorrow]

[Revised plan or original? Last chance to change your mind…]

[I've already made it clear. It's the revised plan or no plan at all]

[Good luck]


End file.
